This invention relates to a method of producing ceramic ware by "Nerikomi" shaping (also called Neriagede, Uzurade, Momikomi). Nerikomi is a soft mud process, formerly restricted to expensive craftwork, which permits Nerikomi ceramic ware to be produced only by highly skilled craftsmen.
The Nerikomi shaping process comprises the steps of stacking alternately a plurality of clay boards differing from each other in color after firing, cutting the stacked mass in a direction not parallel with the surface of the clay board so as to obtain a striped new clay board, forming the striped clay board into a desired shape, e.g., shape of a vessel, and firing the shaped material to obtain a desired ceramic ware. The stacking and cutting of the clay boards may be repeated as required, e.g., the striped clay boards may be stacked again one upon the other, followed by cutting the stacked mass in a direction not parallel with the clay board surface, to obtain a clay board with a complex stripe pattern or checker pattern. This shaping process permits the raw material clay board itself to have a highly decorative pattern.
In general, the fineness of the pattern of the ceramic ware produced by the Nerikomi shaping process is determined by the thickness of the clay board. Also, the size of the ceramic ware is determined by the size of the clay board and the height of the stacked mass of the clay boards. Since there is a limit to the height of the clay boards, the size of the ceramic ware is substantially determined.
It was customary to prepare the clay board by the so-called "string-cut" technique in which a clay board is cut out of a kneaded clay board (tatara-ita) using a stretched string. However, it is difficult to prepare a large, thin clay board because the clay board is limp. Of course, it is very difficult to stack large, thin clay boards. If a clay board is, for example, 30 cm.times.30 cm, the thickness of the board should be at least 5 mm to facilitate stacking rendering the Nerikomi shaping process unsuitable for industrial production. As mentioned previously, the fineness of the ceramic ware pattern is determined by the thickness of the raw material clay board, with the result that ceramic ware produced by the Nerikomi shaping process does not have a fine pattern. A stripe pattern can be prepared by another method in which the shaping clay is brushed many times with sludge comprised of water and clay. This method is very time consuming and it is difficult to prepare a stripe pattern having a uniform thickness of 1 mm or more.